Sealing device

ABSTRACT

A sealing device comprises a shackle, a pair of inner and outer cup-like members each having an end wall at one end, and means for locking said cup-like members together in such a manner as preventing their separation after said cup-like members are once nested one in another. The shackle may be or may not be preliminarily connected at its ends to the end walls of the inner and outer members.

llnlted States Patent 1 91 1111 3,736,917 Kaiho May 29, 1973 1 SEALING DEVICE 2,228,326 1 1941 Rau 292 321 x 1,594,472 8/1926 Simmons 292/320 X [75 1 Japan 1,614,592 1/1927 Behrman 292/318 x Assignee; Takara Kogyo Kab shiki K ish 1,144,792 6/1915 Romberger" ..292/319 Tokyo Japan 1,605,638 11/1926 Baruch 292 318 x 1,727,754 9/1929 Desseuer..... 292/318 X [22] Filed: Feb. 16, 1971 1,580,946 4/1926 Baruch 292/318 X [211 App] No 115 601 1,582,444 4/1926 Bart 292/318 X Primary ExaminerRobert L. Wolfe [30] Foreign Application Priority Data Attorney-Wenderoth, Lind & Pollack June 26, 1970 Japan ..45/55l72 57 BS R T 52 U.S. c1. ..292/317 A Sealing device mPYiSeS a Shackle a Pair inner [51] Int Cl. ..B65d 55/06 and outer cup'like members each having an end wan [58] Field of Search .292/317 318 319 and means for king Said cup-like 292/320 321 24/119 1 bets together in such a manner as preventing their 1 separation after said cup-like members are once [56] References Cited nested one in another. The shackle may be or may not 3 be preliminarily connected at its ends to the end walls UNITED STATES PATENTS of the inner and outer members.

623,941 4/1899 Brooks ..292/3l8 4 Claims, 9 Drawing Figures Patented May 29, 1913 3,73,

TOS HIO KAI HO INVENTOR Maia W ATTORNEYS SEALING DEVICE CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION US. Pat. No. 3,533,653 to Toshio Kaiho generally illustrates a sealing device comprising in combination a shackle in the form of a metal wire of desired length bent a U-shape, and a pair of twisting units consisting of two cylindrical members each having an open end and an end closed by an end plate which is provided with at least two spaced holes. The cylindrical members can be nested one in another with their closed ends disposed outwardly and turnable relative to each other only in one direction about the central axis thereof. When it is desired to effect a sealing operation, the legs of the U of said metal wire pass through said holes in both end plates of said cylindrical members, and are then twisted together between said end platers of the clyindrical members relative to each other.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to novel devices for sealing a door or the like of a freight car, a warehouse, a cash box, a package, etc., for the purpose of preventing its being opened by unauthorized person.

Heretofore, there have been proposed various'sealing devices, such as a sealing device comprising a wire and a disc-shaped lead block with one or more holes. In effecting a sealing operation, the ens of the wire are inserted into the hole in the lead-block and thereafter the lead block is crushed with pincers thereby to form the wire into a closed loop. Thus, such a sealing device needs a tool to crush the lead block and consequently the sealing operation is troublesome.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, a sealing device is provided comprising a shackle, a pair of inner and outer cup-like members each having-an endwall at one end, and means for locking said cup-like members together to prevent their sepa ration. The locking means comprises a pair of lugs provided on the cylindrical side wall of the outer member and a pair of openings provided in the cylindrical-side wall of 'theinner member for receiving said lugs therein. When said inner and outer members are nested one in another, each lug is engaged by the associated opening so that said inner and outer members are undetachably connected together. These openings of the locking means not only act as the components of the locking means but also impart to the inner member acertain degree of elasticity, with the attendant advantage that an easy engagement between the inner and outer members can be carried out.

Furthermore, either the inner or outer member or both of them may be formed with at least two spaced apertures in their end walls. The diameter of the apertures being sufficient to allow the shackle to pass therethrough. The inner member may be provided, at substantially the mid portion of its side wall, with a pair of notches positioned to register with a similar pair of notches provided at the corresponding portions of the outermember. These notches also assist in imparting to the inner and outer members some elasticity.

With the shackle free of either the inner or outer members, a closed loop of the shackle can be estab lished in such a manner that the ends of the shackle first pass through the respective apertures provided in one end wall and, after twisted or knotted together, through the respective notches or the apertures provided in the other end wall. With the shackle being preliminarily fixed at its ends to the end walls of the inner and outer members, a closed loop of the shackle essential to the sealing operation can be established merely by inserting the inner member into the outer member. In the latter case, a shackle in the form of a strap or band may be employed, so that the shackle can be stamped with letters or figures representing the kind and number of articles to be sealed.

It is accordingly an object of this invention to provide a sealing device, by which the desired sealing operation is carried out without the requirement of any special tool, and which is simple in construction, low in manufacturing cost light in weight and highly effective in sealing.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be more apparentfrom the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings which form a part of this specification.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a longitudinal section of an inner cup-like member employed in a sealing device of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the inner cup-like member viewed from direction II shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 1, showing an outer cup-like member;

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the outer cup-like member viewed from direction IV shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the related components explaining the sealing operation of the sealing device shown in FIGS. 1 to 4;

FIG. 6 is a section illustrating the sealing device with the shackle ends locked completely;

FIG. 7 is a view corresponding to that of FIG. 5,

showing a modification of the invention;

FIG. 8 is a view corresponding to that of FIG. 6, but showing the sealing device of FIG. 7; and

FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing another modification of the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to the drawings and FIGS. 1 to 6 in particular, the sealing device of the present invention comprises an inner cylindrical member 1 and an outer cylindrical member 11. Preferably, the inner and outer cup-like members 1 and 11 are both made of a suitable thin metal plate such as steel plate by press work or other suitable machine operation.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the inner member 1 is of a cup-like shape having a cylindrical side wall 2 and a plain end wall 3 covering one opening of the cylindrical side wall. The cylindrical portion 2 is formed at its end remote from the end wall 3 with a pair of longitudinal notches 4 opening into the free edge of the cylindrical portion 2. It is preferable but not essential that these notches 4 are provided at such spaced away from each other by an angle of Each notch 4 is wide enough to allow a shackle 20 (see Feg. 5) in the form of a string, or wire to pass therethrough and preferably consists of a semi-circle and a rectangle. The cylindrical portion 2 is further formed at the substantially mid portion of its length with a pair of suitable shaped openings (in FIGS. 1 and 2, shown as being of rectangular shape) extending circumferentially a predetermined length. Similarly, it is preferable but not essential that these rectangular openings 5 are provided at such symmetrical positions spaced apart from each other by an angle of 180 and that the line connecting the rectangular openings 5 is at right angles to that connecting the notches 4. It is to be understood that these rectangular openings 5 and notches 4 are provided not only for the purpose of giving elasticity to the cylindrical portion 2 of the inner member 1 thereby allowing it to undergo elastic strain when elastic stress is applied thereto, but also for the purpose as described hereinafter. Furthermore, at the end wall 3 of the inner member 1, there are provided two or more spaced apertures 7 in this example, two apertures each of such a dimension as to allow the shackle 20 to pass therethrough.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the outer cylindrical member 11 is of generally one-piece integral formation of a complemental cup-like shape having a cylindrical side wall 12 and a plain end wall 13 covering one opening of the cylindrical portion 12. The cylindrical portion 12 of the outer member 11 has an inner diameter larger than outer diameter of the cylindrical portion 2 so as to receive the inner member 1 therein and has a length or height substantially equal to that of the cylindrical portion 2. The cylindrical portion 12 is also formed at its free end portion remote from the end wall 13 with a pair of longitudinal notches 14 corresponding in shape, and position to the aforesaid notches 4. The cylindrical portion 12 is further formed at the substantially mid portion of its length with a pair of inwardly extending lugs 15. As will be readily appreciated, the lugs 15 are preferably provided to register with the pair of rectangular openings 5 of the inner member 1 and may be formed by, for example, inwardly pressing out portions of the cylindrical wall portion 12 to form a pair of inwardly depressed triangular projections. In addition, as previously mentioned with reference to the inner member 1, it is also preferable that a line connecting the notches 14 is at right angles to that connecting the lugs 15.

It will be apparent from a full explanation of a sealing operation as described hereinafter that, with the inner member 1 having the apertures 7 there is no need to provide the outer member 11 with such apertures as provided at the end wall 3 of the inner member 1. However, instead of providing the end wall 3 of the inner member 1 with the apertures 7 the end wall 13 of the outer member 11 may be formed with two or more similar apertures.

Referring now to FIGS. 5 and 6, a sealing operation of the sealing device according to this invention will be described.

When it is desired to seal a door or the like, both ends 20 of the shackle 20 and in the form ofa wire pass respectively through the separate apertures 7 from the exterior to the interior of the inner member 1. The ends 20' and 20" are then connected together within the inner member 1 by establishing a twisted portion or a knot as shown at 21. Thereafter, the ends 20 and 20" are turned outward through the associated notches 4 as best shown in FIG. 5, respectively.

After the abovementioned operation, the outer member 11 is fitted onto the inner member 1 with the twisted portion 21 of the shackle 20 retained in a position within the inner member 1. As will be understood,

when putting the outer member 11 on the inner member 1, the end portions 20' and 20" of the wire extending through the notches 4 serve as a guide to the notches 14. That is, as shown in the right hand portion of FIG. 6 by way of example, the shackle end 20 passes through the associated notches 14 to bring the inner and outer members 1 and 11 into their correct position with ease. When the inner and outer members 1 and 11 are further pushed toward each other, the inwardly extending lugs 15 on the outer member 11 approach to the respective rectangular openings 5 while a peripheral free edge 22 of the inner member is being slightly deformed inwardly within the elastic limit, and the inner and outer members 1 and 11 are locked together in position when the lower edge 6 of the rectangular opening 5 is pressed down beyond the lower edge 16 of the lug 15. After such a locked engagement between the inner and outer members 1 and 11 (which can be recognized as a clicking sound produced upon the engagement thereof) is established, the inner and outer members 1 and 11 are prevented from axial movements relative to each other, so that their separation is prevented. This causes the twisted portion or knot of the shackle to be locked within the engaged inner and outer members, resulting in perfect sealing. As described above, the inner and outer members once engaged are prevented from their separation by the engagement of the locking means comprising the rectangular openings 5 and the lugs 15, so that even if an unauthorized person intends to release their engagement with any kind of tool, it is impossible to do so without permanent deformation of either the inner or outer member or both of them.

This invention further includes such constructions as shown in FIGS. 7 to 9 wherein the end walls of the inner and outer members 1 and 11 are secured respectively to the ends of a metal member in the form of a strap or belt.

The embodiment shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 discloses a sealing device comprising a strap 25 fixedly connected at the ends to the end walls of the inner and outer members 1 and 11. The strap 25 is provided to be stamped with letters 30 and/or figures (not shown) representative of the number and kind of articles to be sealed. As well known in the art, when riveting the ends of the strap 25 to the end walls of the inner and outer members l and 11, not only the aforesaid apertures 7 in the inner member 1 but also apertures 17 are simultaneously provided at the end walls of the outer member 11. It will be therefore understood that, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the ends 20' and 20" of the shackle 20 after having been twisted or knotted may pass through the apertures 17 instead of the notches 4 and 14. With this embodiment, when establishing the engagement between the inner and outer members, the strap 25 aids the lugs 15 to be positioned to register with the rectangular openings 5 and the notches 4 and 14 may be omitted from the cylindrical side walls 2 and 12 respectively as the shackle ends can pass through the apertures 17 instead of the notches. It is, however, preferable that the inner member 1 is furnished with the notches 4 for the purpose of allowing the inner member 1 to undergo elastic strain to effect an easy engagement between the inner and outer members.

As will be readily appreciated, the strap 25 in the arrangement shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 may be used as a shackle, i.e., it is possible to seal the door or the like without employing the shackle in the form of a string as shown in FIGS. 5 to 8.

In FIG. 9, a shackle in the form ofa strip or band is secured at one end to an inner member 1 and at the other end to an outer member 11' in a conventional manner such as described with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8. When it is desired to seal up, for example, a freight car, the shackle 25' as well as either the inner or outer member connected thereto passes through handles 28 and 29 of doors 26 and 27 of the freight car. Then, the inner member 1' is inserted into the outer member 11 in the aforesaid manner, whereby the inner and outer members are brought into the locked engagement. A closed loop of the shackle 25' can never be released without cutting it off. With this arrangement, there is no need to furnish the end walls of the inner and outer members with any apertures and/or notches for the shackle.

From the foregoing, it will be understood that the sealing device of this invention is so easy in operation that the sealing can be carried out merely by forcing the inner member into the outer member without the necessity of any kind of a special tool. The device is also simple in construction and is resistant to distortion or deformation because of its cup-like construction.

While the invention has been illustrated and described with reference to preferred embodiments thereof, it is to be understood that various changes in the details of constructions and the arrangement and combination of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

What I claim is:

1. A sealing device comPrising in combination a shackle in the form of a string, a first cup-like member consisting of a first cylindrical side wall and a first end wall integral with said side wall, a second cup-like member consisting of a second cylindrical side wall and a second end wall integral with said second side wall, said first cup-like member having a smaller outer diameter than the inner diameter of said second cup-like member so that said first member can be inserted into said second member, and locking means for locking said first and second cup-like members together after the first member has been inserted into the second member so that a closed space is formed between the two member portions of said shackle being connected together within said space, said first cylindrical side wall being provided with a pair of notches open at the free edge portion thereof and positioned, when received in said second cylindrical side wall, to register with a similar pair of notches provided in said second cylindrical side wall, at least one of said first and second end walls being formed with at least two spaced apertures, each of said notches and apertures having such a dimension for allowing said shackle to pass therethrough.

2. A sealing device as set forth in claim 6, wherein, said locking means comprises a pair of lugs integrally provided at the substantially mid portion of said second cylindrical side wall and a pair of openings provided in said first cylindrical side wall and positioned to receive said associated lugs when said first member is inserted into said second member, said lugs extending in such a direction that they prevent relative axial movement between said first and second cup-like members.

3. A sealing device as set forth in claim 6, said first and second cup-like members being connected at their end walls to the ends of a metal strip.

4. A sealing device as set forth in claim 2, said first and second cup-like members being connected at their end walls to the ends of a metal strip. 

1. A sealing device comPrising in combination a shackle in the form of a string, a first cup-like member consisting of a first cylindrical side wall and a first end wall integral with said side wall, a second cup-like member consisting of a second cylindrical side wall and a second end wall integral with said second side wall, said first cup-like member having a smaller outer diameter than the inner diameter of said second cup-like member so that said first member can be inserted into said second member, and locking means for locking said first and second cuplike members together after the first member has been inserted into the second member so that a closed space is formed between the two member portions of said shackle being connected together within said space, said first cylindrical side wall being provided with a pair of notches open at the free edge portion thereof and positioned, when received in said second cylindrical side wall, to register with a similar pair of notches provided in said second cylindrical side wall, at least one of said first and second end walls being formed with at least two spaced apertures, each of said notches and apertures having such a dimension for allowing said shackle to pass therethrough.
 2. A sealing device as set forth in claim 1, wherein, said locking means comprises a pair of lugs integrally provided at the substantially mid portion of said second cylindrical side wall and a pair of openings provided in said first cylindrical side wall and positioned to receive said associated lugs when said first member is inserted into said second member, said lugs extending in such a direction that they prevent relative axial movement between said first and second cup-like members.
 3. A sealing device as set forth in claim 1, said first and second cup-like members being connected at their end walls to the ends of a metal strip.
 4. A sealing device as set forth in claim 2, said first and second cup-like members being connected at their end walls to the ends of a metal strip. 